Buildings & Grounds reports maintenance work and weighs Concrete Park heating options

Buildings & Grounds staff told the committee on March 10 that routine quarterly preventive maintenance has been completed, that equipment repairs (including a grasser/sweeper) were finished, and that staff are considering purchasing dedicated snow removal equipment separate from the grasser. In the courthouse, staff updated a computer system to monitor HVAC across county buildings, dismantled a decommissioned third boiler, repaired a water heater, ordered a replacement pump, and planned hallway painting and waxing.

The department also described work at other county facilities: furniture installation in the WIC office funded by grant money, major plumbing repairs and lighting updates at the Sheriff’s Department, server-room humidifier work, a dryer motor replacement and security door mechanism replacement at the jail, heating repairs at the Highway Department, and repairs to a vent at the airport. Staff noted that one employee was injured in December 2025 and was out through January 2026; the department has not engaged in large-scale projects during the recent winter months.

Committee members discussed Concrete Park heating alternatives for 2027. The county pays roughly six months of heating for the park at about $350 per month; Friends of Fred Smith covers studio heating November–April at roughly $350 per month. The studio currently uses electric thermal storage bricks and baseboard heat; staff said one storage unit was repaired during the winter. Committee discussed the cost comparison of converting the studio to natural gas versus repairing the electric thermal system; staff noted the house on the property uses natural gas but that no gas lines run to the studio.

The committee did not take a final action on Concrete Park heating at the March meeting; staff were asked to develop options for 2027.